Italian

Go to the Registrar site for the current Schedule of Courses and the Course Bulletin.

Declare your Italian minor right here.

1. The Italian language

Italian is primarily the language of Italy (its population is nearly  60,000.000).  It is also one of the official languages in the Ticino and Grigioni cantons in Switzerland, and in the tiny Republic of San Marino.
Italian dialects can be heard on the western side of the Italian  border (Marseille, Nice) and in the East of the Italian border (Slovenia, Croatia).
Italian is still spoken by millions of people who migrated from Italy to many countries in the world: Argentina, Venezuela, Canada, the United States, and many more. Therefore, one must take into account the millions of people living outside of Italy to get a more realistic idea of the number of Italian speakers in the world.

2. Why should you study Italian?

Today Italian is the fourth most studied foreign language in the United States.
The rise in popularity of the Italian language in the USA has to do with social and cultural changes in USA.  Massimo Ciavolella, Head of the Italian Department at California University in Los Angeles,  describes  this trend very well:
“The idea of the Italian emigrant has disappeared, and the Italian language is not linked to that image anymore. Today studying Italian is linked to culture and style. “ The success of Italian products in the world, from food to design, is mirrored in the new interest in choosing Italian as the language to study.
The fascination with Italian artwork and it s rich and complex history is, however, the strongest attraction for large numbers of  tourists, scholars and students.
In Italy, one does not have to enter museums to admire the works of Giotto, Bernini, Caravaggio, or Michelangelo.  In fact, the legacy of  Ancient Rome,  and, later, of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods permeate many public spaces, churches, piazze and fountains.  One already feels at home with history simply by exploring the urban Italian landscape.
Italy is also the country where the Humanistic tradition was first established. The term Umanesimo  was very popular in 1400.  One of the major contributions of Humanism was the renewed belief  that humanae litterae were very important in making an individual into a true citizen.  
Today, here at Creighton University and almost any other university in the United  States, we still believe in the same ideals. The core of university studies is  still defined as the 'Humanities," that is the studies that help young people to become better professionals, citizens, and human beings.  

Without any doubt, the inclusion of a foreign language and the exploration of another culture is an essential step toward the shaping of your future.
We hope therefore that you will be part of our classes!

Italian courses at Creighton

Italian can fulfill your language requirement at Creighton University (Italian 101 and 102).

Go to the Registrar site for the current Schedule of Courses and the Course Bulletin.

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures has implemented a Minor in Italian Studies. This program is designed to give students the opportunity to develop proficiency in the language, as well as understand Italian culture in various fields. Italy is not just a country whose ancient civilization and cultural movements, such as Humanism, Renaissance, and the Baroque influenced and permeated many countries in the world. It is also a mosaic of regional and cultural differences generated by the presence of peoples coming from other lands. Italy is currently opening up to embrace new cultural realities. The Minor in Italian studies aims to help students to recognize and appreciate not only traditional Italian culture, but also to negotiate cultural differences within Italy and Italian society.

The Minor in Italian is a great complementary program for students majoring in other modern languages, in Classics, the history of art, philosophy, music, cinema, business, Pre-Law, and the sciences.

For information about the Minor contact Dr. Maenza  mtmaenza@creighton.edu

If you want to know more about Italian Culture, Language, Cinema, Literature, Art, History, Museums in Rome (and more) we invite you to explore the following links  

https://www.units.it/en
https://www.teche.rai.it/
https://www.museiincomune.it/
https://iiclosangeles.esteri.it/IIC_Losangeles/en/
https://iicchicago.esteri.it/iic_chicago/en/